Charles Barkley didn't hold back following the NBA's landmark penalties against the LA Clippers for salary cap circumvention involving Kawhi Leonard.
Dismissing the franchise's lost draft capital, the Hall of Famer brutally declared that losing picks won't change much for an organization already "so used to losing."
The NBA issued severe penalties against the LA Clippers following an investigation into salary-cap circumvention.
The league fined them $30 million and stripped the franchise of five future first-round picks, one in each draft from 2029 through 2033, after finding that the team facilitated impermissible endorsement arrangements involving Leonard and four companies, including its former sponsor, Aspiration.
For most teams, losing five years of first-round picks creates a long-term setback that makes building a roster nearly impossible. Speaking on The Bill Simmons Podcast, Barkley took a different view on how much these penalties actually harm the franchise.
Instead of focusing on the lost draft capital, Barkley argued that the Clippers were unlikely to be relevant over the next five years.
"The good point about it is they're so used to losing so it won't be a problem," Barkley told Simmons .
The Hall of Famer explained that the Western Conference is heading into a period dominated by two specific teams: the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs.
With Oklahoma City's roster depth and San Antonio building around Victor Wembanyama, Barkley believes the path to a championship in the West will run almost exclusively through those two organizations.
"The NBA championship is going through San Antonio and OKC the next five years, not just the West," he said. "That's the only saving grace for the Clippers. They're not gonna be relevant for the next five years, but most teams in the West are not gonna be relevant for the next five years."
From Barkley's perspective, the loss of draft picks does not fundamentally alter where the Clippers sit in the league hierarchy. Whether the front office held onto those future draft picks or surrendered them to the league, the team was already facing a major talent gap compared to the rising powers in the West.
The massive fine, five lost first-round picks, and suspensions for Steve Ballmer, Gillian Zucker, and Lawrence Frank mean the total damage to the franchise is exceptional.
Leonard took a $700,000 fine himself, but with his trade to the Raptors cleared, he gets a fresh start in Toronto. Meanwhile, Clippers fans are stuck paying the price for a long, painful decade.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network .
